Breathe
by Tanethius
Summary: A 2-part re-imagining of the Naruto x UT OVA, set after the final battle with Tobi. Haruno Sakura watches, helpless, as the breath of her best friend weakens, and his life fades away. Complete - not a sad ending!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Her hands, normally steady even in the thickest of situations, were now trembling through the haze of the healing green chakra. She fumbled clumsily over the gaping wound, cursing herself as she did so, knowing that her being so rattled wasn't helping in the least. But she couldn't help but let the debilitating fear spread throughout her body like a poison – she had never before seen him in such a state, she had never seen him _bleed_ so much, she had never seen such a _massive_ wound.

_This isn't happening, _she thought feverishly, desperately. _Not to Naruto._

Uzumaki Naruto was the absolute last person she had ever expected to be so badly wounded. Granted that his opponent had been Tobi and the immensely powerful and seemingly unstoppable Juubi, but this was _Naruto. _The strongest ninja. The one who refused to die before he became Hokage, or before he brought Sasuke home. The one who had overcome many impossible situations before and always come out on top, grinning his infectious, wide grin that lit up his surroundings like the brightest sun.

_Why won't this wound heal? Why won't he stop bleeding?_

"You idiot," she whispered brokenly even as she desperately channelled even more chakra into her hands, "Why did you take that hit for me?"

The final showdown had been a test of everything that the reunited and new Team 7 had, with Kakashi and Sasuke weaving in and out of Juubi's ferocious attacks to strike at critical points, while Yamato restrained it as much as he could with Mokuton. Sai provided aerial cover, while Sakura brought up the back with support and cleared the way for Naruto to move in with his barrage of devastating attacks.

Their teamwork had been flawless, and after a huge battle, Tobi and Juubi were brought down. But just as Tobi slumped to the ground and Juubi collapsed with a guttural roar, the incomplete beast lashed out with its claw, a final attack, aiming directly at Sakura. She had watched, too exhausted from the battle, as the claw flew inexorably towards her, and she had closed her eyes and awaited the end. But moments passed, and nothing happened. There was no impact, no pain.

She opened her eyes, only to gasp in horror as she took in the painful sight of Naruto impaled upon the claw, having used his body to shield hers and ward off Juubi's last strike. She couldn't recall much of what happened next, other than screaming Naruto's name as he slid off the claw and crumpled to the ground.

"Do you… even need to ask?" He grinned at her. That reassuring, comforting, _damnable_ grin that promised that all would be right with the world. "So long as I still breathe, I will always protect you." He grimaced as another spasm of pain wracked his ruined body, and he began coughing up blood, groaning softly as he writhed. Sakura's throat constricted painfully. She had never heard such raw _pain_ in his voice before.

_Why won't it heal? _She screamed inwardly. But she knew the answer. Naruto had expended every bit of chakra both he and Kurama possessed, and there was nothing left to help him heal himself as he always did. Juubi's chakra, lingering in the wound like a festering poison, was repelling her own as she tried desperately to heal Naruto. Whatever little chakra she could still muster was being nullified.

_Please… please heal. _Sakura started to beg in her mind, as tears welled at the corner of her eyes and trickled down her face. _Please…_

"… Don't cry, Sakura-chan…" He said softly, reaching out a hand to gently touch her face. The same rough and calloused hand that had previously held hers so many times before, comforting and guiding her in her times of despair. She had never given it much thought before, but as Naruto slipped away, Sakura realized that he had ever been her pillar of support. Naruto was her best friend, her confidante, her guardian… her sun. And she couldn't bear the thought of having to go on without him by her side.

A distance away, the rest of Team 7 watched silently, despairing at being unable to help.

Sakura pushed herself to the very limits of her body, straining and pulling out all her remaining chakra. But it wasn't enough. The wound wasn't closing, and she felt his body grow colder to the touch. The tears were flowing unabated now, and her chakra flared one last time before it faded completely. She gasped. _No! Not now! I still haven't saved him!_ She fumbled at her pouch, flinging the contents out as fast as she could. Maybe if she still had a soldier pill, Naruto could be saved.

_Don't leave me please… Naruto…_

She hurled the empty pouch away from her in anger. Who was she kidding? She had exhausted her supply during the fight. With a hoarse, stricken cry, she began to pound the ground.

A hand shot out, grabbing hers and stopping her fist.

"I'll be fine," He smiled again. "Don't worry, okay?" She shook her head.

"It's not working, Naruto," She cried in despair, "Nothing I do is working! Even now I'm as helpless as ever… you saved me again and I still can't do anything to repay you!"

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto frowned at her, and she noted that his voice was weakening, "I don't need you to repay me. Just knowing that you're safe is good enough for me, you know?"

"It's not good enough for me!" She snapped, choking back another sob. She _hated_ this helplessness. "It's not enough! Please… tell me what to do. Help me…" _I don't know what to do…_

"I'll be fine…" He repeated, reassuring, gently stroking her tear-stained cheek. She closed her eyes in despair, and reached down to hug Naruto close to her. "I just gotta… rest a bit… and I'll be fine."

"No…" She whispered into his chest. "Don't leave me… Naruto, please don't leave me!"

"I'll… be fine…" He said again, softer this time. She could barely hear him now. "Just gotta… rest…" His hand went limp, and started to fall. Sakura gasped weakly, and reached out, trying desperately to catch his hand, a fleeting irrational thought running through her mind that if she could just catch it, somehow Naruto would be okay.

But she missed, fumbling at thin air, and Naruto's hand fell to his side with a soft, final thump as his head slumped to the side.

"Naruto…?" Sakura whispered tremulously. "Hey… answer me. Naruto…"

There was no reply.

"Naruto, this isn't funny," She shook his body, though her own was shaking far worse. "We won, didn't we? We were supposed to go home together, all of us, weren't we?" Her voice rose, taking on a manic, grief-wracked quality. "You promised we would all go home together…"

Above, the skies opened and rain began to fall. The rest of Team 7 lowered their heads in sorrow, and turned away to grief.

"Hey, didn't you say you wouldn't die before you became Hokage? You promised all of us," Her fists clenched tightly, squeezing his tattered clothes together. "Come on, it's over… let's go home."

Even as she rambled, her tears mingled with the rain and his blood, flowing into the muddy ground.

"Wake up!" She wailed hoarsely. "You promised! We won! It's over!" There was a movement next to her, and she lashed out blindly, furiously, screaming.

"Sakura… he's gone." Came the tired voice of her sensei, soft with the sorrow of a man who had seen far too many tragedies in his life. "Naruto's gone."

Her struggles ceased.

Gripping Naruto's body close to hers, Haruno Sakura buried her head in his shoulders, and cried.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

Death, Uzumaki Naruto mused, was boring. _Really _boring.

He had expected something flashier, like all the crazy things he had heard from his fellow ninja about having your life flash before your eyes, and a bright light guiding you to the afterlife, along with heavenly bells and harps and all that jazz. He had believed all that back that, and now, reflecting back, he wondered dourly how he had ever fallen for nonsense like that, considering that none of those ninja had actually _died_.

There was none of the fancy stuff here in the… wherever he was. He was surrounded by an endless blackness, which couldn't even be described as darkness, since he could see his body perfectly clearly. There was certainly no floor that he could make out, nor a ceiling. He was simply floating along. He had tried, unsuccessfully, to mould some chakra and see if he could blast his way out, Naruto-style, but nothing had happened. It was as though he had no chakra at all.

_So much for Naruto-style, _Naruto frowned.

_Maybe there's an exit? _His face brightened at the thought. Wherever an exit led, if it existed, it had to be better than this stupid place. He huffed and puffed to see if he could propel himself around, and when that didn't seem to work, he then tried to swim, flinging his arms and legs about ungracefully_. _But given that he was surrounded by an all-encompassing black, he couldn't even tell if he was making any progress or giving dear old Shinigami a good chuckle watching him flop about like a fish out of water. With an exasperated sigh, Naruto stopped flopping and crossed his arms, his face scrunched up in annoyance.

"This is REALLY BORING." He grounded out. Seriously, what was up with that? There had to be more to dying than this.

Then, with a flash of panic, he wondered uneasily if this was to be his fate for all eternity – floating in an endless inky blackness. The mere thought of having to float about without being able to do anything for another _5 minutes_ filled him with indescribable dread, much less _eternity_.

"Hey, Shinigami!" Naruto yelled as loudly as he could. Someone had to be able to hear him! "Could you… uh… send me somewhere else? A ramen stall in the afterlife? Somewhere with a bed? Or just somewhere with someone else?" His tone grew more desperate. "Heck, I'd settle for just having someone else here, at least it won't be so _boring._ Uh… not that I'm dissing your choice of interior décor or anything, it's just not my cup of ramen, if you get what I mean."

Nope, nothing was happening. No sudden flash of light sending him elsewhere, no puff of smoke revealing a companion. _Son of a bitch,_ Naruto cursed inwardly.

Now that his plan to get out had failed spectacularly, Naruto turned his thoughts inwards, to his teammates. Uchiha Sasuke had come around at the last moment, after a lengthy one on one duel where the 2 friends had staked all their beliefs and feelings on. Each fist that connected went far beyond the physical realm, channelling their emotions to one another. And at the end of it, when they had stood facing each other, ready to launch the attacks that would bring the fight to a close, there had been no more hatred, no more anger. Only understanding, and, in a throwback to their younger days as genin, a need to know who was stronger. They had jumped at each other, grinning, shouting each other's names, and enveloping their surroundings in a massive blast of chakra as their signature attacks clashed.

"Naruto…" Sasuke had said, when he regained consciousness to look into Naruto's tired, grinning face, the first time in _years_ that he had referred to the blond by his name. "Thank you."

As for his other teammate, his best friend and the girl that he had never give up on, Haruno Sakura. Over the years, through the perils of surviving Akatsuki attacks, chasing after Sasuke, and the events of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the 2 of them had established an incredibly strong bond between them, so much that sometimes their friends were surprised by their uncanny abilities to read each other's' intentions. Their friendship had long transcended into something much more, something that couldn't be easily described. Theirs was not a romantic relationship by any stretch of the imagination (or rather, Naruto's imagination), but they were very much like a couple in how well they knew each other's quirks, and how they were able to share their feelings.

He had no regrets whatsoever taking that final hit for Sakura, and dying as a result (even if death was _seriously, incredibly boring_). Given the chance, he would do it again and again and again – Sakura's wellbeing and happiness were of paramount importance, and nothing short of death would come between him and ensuring that she was safe and happy. In short, being able to die for Sakura wasn't a source of regret, and in fact one of the few ways he had always imagined himself leaving the mortal coil.

Naruto only had 3 regrets – one being that he would never see her and her smile again, the second being that he would never see his precious friends again, nor say his farewells, and of course, the last being that he had not yet made Hokage.

But all in all, he mused with a smile, it had been a good life. All his life he had been working towards being recognized and accepted by the people of Konoha, and being acknowledged as a hero warmed him in ways he had never imagined possible.

Once, he might have turned away derisively from their newfound affection. It would have been the understatement of the century to say that Uzumaki Naruto had had a difficult childhood. It wasn't easy letting go of the confusion, anger and hatred of having to bear the brunt of an entire village's unadulterated hatred for something that you didn't even do, and if Naruto were completely honest with himself, he doubted he would have been able to fully let go of all the negative feelings had he not resolved the conflict within himself at the Falls of Truth, and getting to meet his parents. Minato and Kushina had entrusted him with their love, faith and their dreams, and it had been a huge weight off his shoulders to know that he had been _loved_.

But now, all the hatred had faded away, leaving behind only a burning determination, stronger than ever before, to protect everyone, even from the other nations. Everyone's thoughts had been unified during the Fourth Shinobi World War, striving only for victory and the peace that lay beyond. And now that the looming threat of Tobi and the Juubi had been stopped permanently, the peace that his parents, Jiraiya, even Nagato and Itachi, had dreamed of were within reach.

"I did good, didn't I?" Naruto whispered to himself, "Mom? Dad? Ero-sennin?"

"Don't sell yourself short, Naruto. You proved over and over again that their faith wasn't misplaced." A voice came from behind him suddenly. With a horrified yell – _what the hell, I thought I was alone! _– Naruto whirled around, only to come face to face with a grimacing Kurama.

"Damn it boy, could you shout any louder? My ears…" The nine-tailed fox grumbled.

"Kurama… you? What? How?" Naruto blurted. Then it clicked. After all, wasn't the Kyuubi's life tied to his own? "Ah. Sorry, Kurama. I got you killed too, eh? My bad!" He said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head. Kurama rolled his eyes in response. Only Uzumaki Naruto could make light of 'getting someone else killed'. In any case…

"Stupid boy, we're not dead."

"… huh?"

"You heard me. We're not dead. Though I must say you did a pretty damn good job of bringing us as close to it as possible."

"We're not dead?" Naruto parroted, and Kurama resisted the urge to smack the boy upside down. "Ha! We're not dead! Yes! Take that, boring place!" The whiskered boy then sobered rapidly, and the fox wondered briefly how it was even possible for anyone to have such fleeting emotions. "So… uh… where _are_ we anyway?"

"Remember the level of consciousness where you met the other Bijuu? That's where we are."

"What? But it looked completely different back then!"

"Well, yes," Kurama drawled, "That was because all of us were empowering the realm with our chakra. Being a place where Bijuu can convene and communicate without any restrictions, that level of consciousness can only be sustained by our chakra, and otherwise doesn't exist. Hence, this." He waved a claw around, indicating the surrounding blackness.

"Oh." Naruto rubbed his head, most of the information alien to him. "So… what are we doing here?" Kurama sighed.

"The injury you sustained was immense, and in fact, should have killed you. The only reason you're still alive and were able to speak to the pink-haired girl," Kurama ignored the outburst of "her name is Sakura!" from an indignant Naruto, "Is because I tapped into every bit of chakra I had and used it to keep you alive. As it so happens, it wasn't enough, and I had to put you into a state of… induced death, so I could heal the damage."

"But I thought we both ran out of chakra!" Naruto frowned, then pointed an accusing finger at the fox. "Ahhh! Damn you, Kurama! If you still had some chakra left, you should have told me! We could have kicked Juubi's ass completely and not be in this mess!"

"You idiot," Kurama growled in response, "I _was_ out of chakra. I drew on the remainder of my chakra that was still within Juubi's body after it died. Not an altogether simple process, so be grateful, brat!" Naruto grinned sheepishly in response and muttered an apology. Snorting, Kurama continued, "The other Bijuu helped too. They gathered what little chakra their consciousness could still mould and channelled it into your body. Being absorbed into the Juubi destroyed their physical essence, so it'll be a while before they will be able to gather enough of their chakra to regenerate their bodies. You should be proud, Naruto," he said in a low, serious tone, levelling a steely gaze at the blond, who stiffened, "They chose to help you as a mark of their gratitude and respect, at the expense of their own recovery."

"They did that?" Naruto murmured in quiet awe. For a moment, he was silent, contemplative. Then he broke out into a gigantic grin and chuckled. "Thanks! Man, you guys are awesome! I'll definitely repay all of you somehow! That's a promise!" Kurama smirked in response. Having long been viewed as tools of war, the Bijuu had developed a strong hatred and distrust for humans. Uzumaki Naruto was the first person, in a long time, to have treated all of them as equals… as friends. The nine-tailed fox would never admit it loud out, but he was proud to have the young man as his Jinchuuriki.

"That's something for another time." Kurama flicked Naruto with a long claw, sending the blond tumbling away with a yell of surprise. Naruto found himself speeding away from the fox, and his body started to fade as he did so. Just as he lost consciousness – _how weird, losing consciousness within another consciousness_ – Kurama's voice came to him.

"For now, get out of here. I need sleep, and your shouting isn't helping. Go tend to your Sakura."

* * *

"Sakura… we have to go." Kakashi said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Naruto… should be given a proper b-burial." He stuttered on the last word, his voice cracking with the weight of his emotions. How was it even fair that he, their sensei, had to bury his own student? Naruto had had a bright future ahead: his unrivalled might, his unmatched charisma and his uncanny ability to make friends out of enemies – all of that would have made Naruto the greatest ninja and Hokage the world would ever see.

But fate, it seemed, had other plans.

And so too, did Sakura. She refused to budge, instead burying her face deeper into Naruto's chest, sobbing quietly and whispering his name over and over. It was heart-breaking to watch, and Kakashi felt his eyes grow damp as he watched her give in to utter despair. He turned away, brushing a gloved hand across his face, but the action only served to cause the tears to flow unabated.

Some distance away, Sasuke watched, his emotions a turbulent mix of grief and guilt. A voice in the back of his head whispered, _if you hadn't fought Naruto, this wouldn't have happened. He would have had more chakra to spare on Juubi._ He bowed his head, and quietly uttered a heartfelt, grief-stricken apology to his best friend. If it meant anything to the friends and people Naruto had left behind, Sasuke would see to it that he protected them till his last breath. _It is_, he thought to himself bitterly, _the least I can do to repay Naruto for never giving up on me._

Sai never thought he could ever again feel the sheer and overpowering sadness that had come with his brother's death, but looking at Naruto's body evoked powerful emotions in the ex-Root member. Naruto had, in many ways, showed Sai that there was more to the world than the distinct black and white that Danzo had painted it in. There were all the other colours of life in between, the world being a far more complex and beautiful place than he had been led to believe. Though right now, Sai thought to himself as he grimaced in pain, everything was a bleak grey.

Yamato had left a while ago, unwillingly, but having had to bear the news of Tobi's defeat to the unified army. Though he wasn't particularly close to Naruto, the blond ninja had been a valued companion and comrade, and it was never easy bidding farewell to someone who was far younger.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered miserably, another sob wracking her body. She vaguely heard Kakashi's words, but she didn't want to move. She couldn't move. Moving away would mean that Naruto would be taken from her, and buried, and that would be the last she would ever get to see of him. She couldn't let that happen to him. A small part of her mind that was still thinking rationally told her that there was nothing more that could be done, that the body before her was but a husk of the great man known as Uzumaki Naruto, and that she would have to let him go. But she shut the voice out, squeezing her eyes shut, desperately in need of the warmth still in his body. She knelt silently, determined to stay there until someone pulled her away, and even then she resolved that she would not be parted from Naruto without a fight.

The small, rational part of her mind registered that the strange warmth in Naruto's body seemed to be growing stronger, even though it should be fading. But she was far too much in shock and grief to pay it much attention.

And that was when a hand touched her cheek, gently.

She _knew _that touch. The calloused hand, the rough skin, the warmth. The comfort that it always brought her. _His_ touch.

Sakura's eyes flew open.

_He_ was awake, staring at her with his beautiful ocean-blue eyes, shining with uncontained happiness at seeing her. A mirthful smile played on his lips as he stroked her cheek again, wiping away the tears.

"Naruto…?" She breathed, disbelieving. Was she hallucinating? Naruto was dead, but here he was, smiling at her, the horrific wound closed. She faintly heard the strangled, sharp intake of breaths from the rest, but her eyes were only for the blond in front of her.

"Ne, Sakura-chan… why are you crying?" Naruto chuckled, his voice gentle, "I said I'd be fine with a bit of rest, right?" He shifted, sitting up and regretfully pushing himself out of Sakura's grip so that he could look at her closely. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her lips were trembling. Her face was marred with blood, dirt and tear streaks.

Naruto thought she looked perfect all the same.

He placed both hands on her cheeks, and wiped away the tears of joy that were welling up at the corners of her eyes. "I'm alive, Sakura-chan. I'm oka–"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Sakura let loose with a sob mixed with a laugh, then slammed her lips into his. His eyes widening, Naruto belatedly realized that Sakura, his wonderful, perfect Sakura-chan, his best friend and the girl whom he had been in love with since he was a child, was _kissing _him.

And damn, it felt _good._ Her full lips were soft, _so incredibly soft_. He had never even imagined that a day like this would ever come, when Sakura would be kissing him so passionately, that he could feel the love radiating from every fibre of her being and flowing into his own. A powerful, heavenly warmth invaded his body, and his heart pounded furiously while his stomach churned as what felt like an _army_ of butterflies fluttered within. And judging from her own pounding heart, which he could feel beating against his chest, she was feeling the same.

After what felt like a blissful eternity, Sakura pulled away from him, a magnificent red blush covering her face, matched only by Naruto's own. For a moment, both of them gazed deeply into each other's eyes, mesmerized by the deep affection that they could so clearly see in one another.

Then, Naruto's stare took on a glazed quality, and he slumped over backwards in a dead faint, a dazed and stupid grin plastered on his face.

Sakura squeaked in surprise and her blush intensified when she heard the low, impressed whistle from her sensei. Sasuke came walking over, coughing lightly in embarrassment at how _passionately_ his 2 teammates had been going at each other. He glanced at the blond, who was now twitching on the ground.

"I do believe," He said dryly to his pink-haired, red-faced teammate, "that you have killed him for real this time."

* * *

A/N: Annnnd it's done! This was a completely random idea that popped into my head when I saw the Naruto x UT OVA for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at the hints towards NaruSaku.

I enjoyed writing about Naruto's feelings towards the Bijuu and his parents, as well as the village, though I ultimately decided not to spend too much writing about those since the focus of the story is on Naruto and Sakura. Not to fret though, I'll be working on a bunch of other one or two-shots and exploring his feelings in greater detail!

And lastly, it's been a long time since I've written anything, so I hope this has been at least as enjoyable a read for you as it was for me to write!


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